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Goose should absolutely get his title shot back. He won't, but he should.

It all depends how you feel about incumbents losing their place through injury. Should they, or shouldn't they?

Both approaches have pros and cons. The latter method requires a fair degree of loyalty to implement and stick with, because people have short memories. Prior to the staredown fracas, a lot of people were still bummed about Gus's bad luck, and having to wait on his rematch with Jones. But then things got physical, and the war of words started (or the UFC Hype Machine got rolling, whichever story you prefer) and then it was all about DC vs. Bones, and the majority of people were psyched for it, and Gus was put on the back burner a bit in the minds of a lot of people.

You can go back to the original brawl thread and actually watch it happen in real time. The number of posts from people saying variations of "Holy shit I didn't really care for this matchup before BUT NOW I CANT WAIT TO WATCH THESE GUYS GET IT ON!" was telling, and this same shift in perception was replicated across social media. It's a fascinating example of perception manipulation (if you think it was a work, which I do) and shows that the tried and true methods for generating heat are often the best.

The DC/Bones rivalry has the benefit of being current, and fresh, but the fact is that Gus was announced as the number one contender in June 2014. DC hasn't fought anyone since then, hasn't beaten anyone. His credentials are identical to what they were before Gus was granted his title shot. The only thing that changed is the level of hype behind the matchup. Hype trumps achievement in the UFC, I guess, even when it is the UFC's own logic, rankings and process that deemed Gus's achievements - which also haven't changed one bit since his injury - worthy of the number one contendership in the first place.

Gus earned his rematch, and had he not gotten injured he would have likely been at that staredown, and it would have been his mic that was 'still recording' and who knows where we would be right now? By rights he should get it back, but Kevo is correct, and he probably won't.

Just watched it for the first time from start to finish with a friend who doesn't know either fighter. I didn't tell him before who won and he was shocked at the outcome. He had it 4-1 Gus. Even round 4, even though I gave it to Jones, Gus won most of the round.

Originally Posted by helipoison

As far as Gus's complaint, many people see the first fight going to Gus (personally I saw it 3-2 Jones but I can see it going either way). I think with as close as the first fight was and the destruction of Manuwa he's earned it. You could make an argument that Cormier hasn't earned his shot either. Beating a new comer to the UFC, then Dan Henderson on the downhill slide of his career doesn't earn a title shot in my opinion.

And yes I know he's was doing well as a heavyweight and decided to drop down. Yes the precedent has been set in the past for ridiculous paths to title shots when switching weight classes. I just think he needed to fight a top 5 opponent before getting his shot is all.

and cat was bader top 5 at the time? i honestly dont remember. All i remember is two undefeated* fighters bader at 12-0 coming off a win against lil nog and then Jones wining that andtaking the fight against shogun a month later.

Not that I have seen. Highest I think he was ranked (which was by Sherdog) was 6th.

Originally Posted by Fe1

Ok, I'm not reading any of the other posts here because I know that this is just going to be silly. Anyway, here's how I feel about it:

2. Gus should get a title shot now instead of Cormier as Daniel was a late replacement and now the real #1 contender will be recovered in time to fight for the title.

and 3. Cormier should still have to fight on that card anyway.

2 - Gus should but we all know what makes fights in the UFC.. $
.... C.R.E.A.M

3. Not sure I agree with that one... Cormier should be given the option to take a fight on that card but shouldn't be told he has too to keep his spot. Cormier stepped up and took a 'shorter' notice fight after Goose got hurt even though he was planning on surgery. Jones pulled out for similar injuries. Cormier should be recognized for his willingness to step up and do what the UFC needs of him at the very minimum and keep his spot in line behind Goose with out having to fight again and not get his knee fixed.

But then again, he might want to fight on that card in case their is another injury..

Originally Posted by The Donosaur

I loved Sonnen's "if I said I was gonna fight, I'll fight" philosophy. It was the best thing about him.

I love the philosophy but it seems a bit tainted coming from a guy who was pumped to the gills full of steroids and testosterone all the time.

the higher ups at ZUFFA have already assured Cormier that he will not lose his title fight.

"DC" broke it down during America's Pregame on FOX Sports 1:

"There were a lot of questions when I heard he was out of the fight. Remember, I replaced Alexander Gustafsson. When I heard Jon was hurt, now he and Gustafsson are now on the same schedule to be healthy. So my first question was, do I have to go back behind Gustafsson now, right? And I was assured it is going to be me in January, he's not going to take my place. Lorenzo Fertitta, the big boss said this is a fight we're keeping together. I was very concerned about that, I didn't want to lose my place in line. But to have this fight with a full training camp, six months to prepare and to know that I'm fighting Jon Jones. It can be a blessing, but I would be outside of myself to not say that I went into this fight with my knee pretty jacked up and I was going to fight through it to get a title."

Gustafsson is unhappy, though. Late last night he posted the following to Instagram, with the message "Apparently @ufc thinks that acting like clowns on a pressconference will hype a fight more than doing the fight of the century, thats ridiculous."

Facebook yesterday, "I just heard the news that Jones is injured and the fight is rescheduled to January 3???? Until then, I will be more than ready, it was MY fight to begin with and I WANT the fight as the number 1 contender. End of story!!"

“One positive I think there is, is [Cormier] was having a shorter camp,” Jackson-Wink assistant striking coach Brandon Gibson told Sherdog.com. “I’m sure he was going to be worried about getting in shape, and we didn’t want any excuses from him. This gives DC plenty of time to get better at every aspect he wants to get better at and heal whatever needs to heal.

“Because when we face him, we want to face the best DC there is. No excuses.”

Greg Jackson echoed a similar sentiment, although as the renowned trainer often does, he took a more diplomatic route to get there.

“If Jon is lucky enough to earn a victory over Cormier, he should be the best Cormier that you can possibly fight. That’s why you’re fighting. If you’re just fighting to win, you can fight bums all day long,” Jackson said. “If you’re trying to fight the best when they’re the best, that means a little more. The more training for Daniel, the better, and vice versa for Jon. [When] Daniel fights Jon it should be at Jon’s best. That’s the whole point of the thing.”

According to Jackson, the injury occurred while Jones was defending a takedown from UFC heavyweight talent Alistair Overeem during wrestling practice.

“It’s part of the game, it wasn’t like ... somebody went for a flying kick and dislocated [something]. Somebody went for a takedown, [Jones] stepped the wrong way, twisted the wrong way and down he went. He was fighting it, and he just twisted it. And then it just popped,” Jackson said.

"Alistair’s maybe 240, Jon’s 220. It’s not like he was working with a giant moose. It was just one of those things."

Although nearly five months remain until his rescheduled date with Cormier, Jones is likely to remain in New Mexico until that fight takes place instead of heading home to New York.

“We’re just going to continue to get better. There’s still a lot he can do even with his knee rehabbing, so the team is going to focus on some other things,” Gibson said. “Whether it’s just mental or visualization or doing rehab exercises. He’s gonna keep getting better.”

Of course, there will be limitations to what Jones can do -- at least early on.

“You can’t do any kickboxing, but we can work stuff off his back, stuff I wanted to work anyway,” Jackson said. “It just gives us more time.”

As for the conspiracy theorists who think there are ulterior motives behind Jones’ withdrawal? Well, Jackson has heard it all before, and at this point, the naysayers almost always fall on deaf ears.

“The important thing is I know [what happened]. I know he’s not ducking him. I was there when the injury happened,” Jackson said. “That’s all I need. There’s always theories. That’s sports; that’s entertainment.”

Jon "Bones" Jones
Athlete · 1,504,925 Likes · 2 hrs ·
..
I'd like to apologize to all the fans who were excited for UFC 178. Earlier this week, I suffered an injury while training for the fight. I'm having surgery tomorrow and I'm focused on recovering as quickly as possible. I look forward to getting back in the gym and defending my title on Jan. 3 in Las Vegas.

Sucks for everyone involved. I think given Gus' injury and Jones' injury on the same card, I think they are going to ensure that a LHW title fight will happen on Jan 3rd by having Jones, Cormier and Gus all fight on the same card. Most likely, it will be Jones vs. Cormier and Gus vs. Anthony Johnson. If Cormier is injured, Gus steps up. If Jones gets injured, they will likely have an interim title fight between Gus and Cormier (even though they shouldn't). If Cormier and Gus both are injured, they can have Anthony Johnson step up.

Anyone think this could possibly be staged to make the UFC new years show get big numbers?

No. The UFC put resources into promoting this fight so that hype would be at its peak in September. Pushing the date back only diminishes the "hype" gains they have made thus far. The brawl effectively brought attention to the event, but the attention span of the general populous is finite.